Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1955 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-06-23
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 86 minutes

Synopsis
Like Tim Burton's EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and the TV show PUSHING DAISIES, PENELOPE is a modern fairy tale, complete with candy colours and whimsical cinematography. PENELOPE begins with a generations-old curse by a jilted lover: the next girl in the aristocratic Wilhern family will be born with a pig's snout and ears. Though ages pass, the bad luck finally manifests itself in young Penelope (Christina Ricci) much to the shame of her mother (Christopher Guest favourite Catherine O'Hara). In an effort to break the curse, her mother and father (Richard E. Grant, WITHNAIL AND I) try to bring in a series of blue-blooded suitors. But when they see her face, the men all run screaming. Enter Max (James McAvoy), a down-on-his-luck gambler who connects with Penelope. But when he is exposed as a fraud, the heartbroken girl escapes into the surrounding city. Though she hides her face with a scarf, Penelope gets to experience life outside her family's mansion for the first time.
Pig nose and all, Ricci is adorable as the title character, excellent in alternating between naivete and independence. Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon succeeds in double duty as both a producer and in a small acting role as Penelope's first friend in the big city. But it's McAvoy, a standout in ATONEMENT and THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, who threatens to steal hearts. The pair's romance is believable, and it makes the film good viewing for fairy tale fans of all ages. The PG rating should appeal to families, as should the film's message about the importance of inner-beauty and self-confidence.

Customer Reviews

It a fairy tale but a lovely one
Let's face it, this is a fairy tale and if you don't like such things then you won't like this movie, but, on the other hand if you do love a good classic bedtime story where a young girl is cursed, her family is looking for the perfect prince that will save her, love is, as usual, playing games, disguised in a charming man that is not a prince, while the prince is really a pig and the pig-girl is just lovely (even with the nose she looks lovely, she is not disgusting in any part of the movie), and the curse is in fact nothing more than our fear of not being accepted for our physical characteristics.
So, it is quite a simple story, yes, but nowadays, when 15-years old girls are asking their moms for nose jobs, I think it is not so bad to have a movie about loving oneself and accepting that pig-girl or not, you don't need anyone else but yourself to be happy.

Sweet fairy tale - great performances from a talented cast
"Penelope" is the story of a high society girl, born with a pig's snout due to a curse. She is kept isolated by her excentric mother, who desperately tries to break the curse by finding a blue blood suitor for Penelope. This isn't easy, every man runs away after seeing Penelope's snout, until Max that is. Penelope and Max hit it off, but Max will not marry Penelope. After this rejection, Penelope breaks free into the world and goes exploring - and much follows...

"Penelope" is a sweet, little fairy tale about accepting yourself despite your pig's snout. The movie feature excellent actors and magnificant performances from all of them. The dialogue is rich and humorous. All in all, "Penelope" is the kind of movie that makes you sigh and smile and the kind of movie that will remain on my dvd-shelf for a long time and be watched again and again.

Louise

An older fairy tale than you might think
The tale of 'Penelope' is an interesting modern twist on fairy story romances... with an emphasis on 'noses' rather than 'tails', as the title character (the first-born female in her bloodline since an ancestor betrayed a witch's kin) is the luckless recipient of a generations-old curse: and has the snout of a pig in place of a nose. To break the curse upon herself, Penelope must find and marry a blue-blood. But, much to her parents' consternation, Penelope - who, because of her deformity, has been hidden away from the world for her whole life - is more interested in forming friendships than she is in breaking the curse.
When a con-man turned suitor (McAvoy in dishevelled splendour) breaks her heart, Penelope sets out to discover the world for herself.

This is a charming film, with endearing performances from Christina Ricci, James McAvoy and Reese Witherspoon (as Penelope's friend in exile). However, although it is pitched as a fairy tale story and has a PG rating (and certainly doesn't merit anything more in regards to content), 'Penelope' is not ideal for the 6-10 year old audience I bought it for after seeing it advertised. I thought the film, though slow-moving and at times quite sophisticated (e.g. in some scenes 'Penelope' is shown implicitly getting rapidly drunk in a bar... using a straw under her face-concealing scarf) was enjoyable, but aimed more at over 10's/teenagers than younger kids.